13 January 2015
A government bill to help enable more people to build their own homes has passed its final stage in the House of Commons when MPs agreed to give it a Third Reading.
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The purpose of the Self Build and Custom Housebuilding Bill – the brainchild of South Norfolk MP Richard Bacon – is to make it easier for an individual or a group of individuals to obtain land in order to build a house to live in. It places a duty on local councils to keep a register of people who wish to build their own home and who are actively seeking to acquire serviced plots of land in the local authority’s area. The Bill then requires each local council to take account of its ‘self build register’ when exercising the functions of planning, housing, regeneration and the disposal of land.
The Bill, which has all party support, now goes to the House of Lords where it will be introduced in early February by Lord Richard Best, a housing expert who is President of the Local Government Association and a Cross Bench peer.
Mr Bacon said: “I am delighted that the House of Commons has agreed to the passage of my Bill. There is now a serious prospect of the Bill becoming law.
“I am very pleased that Lord Best has kindly agreed to help steer the Bill through the House of Lords. Lord Best is a highly respected figure with many years of experience and great expertise in the housing sector. I look forward to working with him to secure the passage of the Bill through the Upper House.”
